Sunday, August 21, 2016

Scottish Senior Open at Archerfield report and scores link

Raffery fades and Eales from Essex steps in

to score first win in 22 years

FROM THE EUROPEAN SENIOR TOUR WEBSITE Paul Eales from Epping, Essex claimed his first victory in 22 years as he secured a maiden
European Senior Tour title at the Prostate Cancer UK Scottish Senior
Open at Archerfield Links, East Lothian.

Eales, pictured right by courtesy of Getty Images(c), trailed the overnight leader, former European Tour Number One
Ronan Rafferty, by seven shots, starting the day on seven under par.He moved to eight under par with a birdie on the second hole, but
bogeyed the par three eighth hole to make the turn level par on the day.A run of consecutive birdies on the 10th, 11th and 12th holes saw him
shoot up the leaderboard, and he held his nerve on the 18th hole with a
birdie putt from ten feet to take a one-shot lead with two groups left
to finish their rounds, carding a final round four under par 68.The 53 year old becomes the seventh player to win on the Challenge
Tour, European Tour and European Senior Tour, adding to his victories in
the 1991 Audi Open and 1994 Extremadura Open.“That is the special thing, knowing that I’d won on the Challenge
Tour on the way up, on the European Tour and now here,” said Eales.
“It’s extremely special and I know I’ve now joined a small band of
brothers who have won on all three Tours.“It’s special to come to Archerfield, one of my favourite places on
the planet. To win a title in Scotland, the home of golf, is a
privilege.”The Englishman admitted he was unaware of his position on the
leaderboard after his run of birdies, as he then found himself alongside
Peter Fowler, Santiago Luna and Rafferty.“I didn’t make many mistakes until the eighth when I missed a little
tap-in, but Sharon (his wife/caddie) encouraged me on the tenth tee and that became a bit
of a springboard,” he said.“It wasn’t until I made it to the 14th green when you could see that
the other guys were coming back. I knew I was in amongst it then.“I putted on 17 and saw I was tied for the lead, so I thought ‘let’s
see what happens down 18’. I pulled my shot to the green a little bit in
the wind but it was just a question of picking my putting line and
rolling it down; it went centre-cut and was brilliant.”Eales reserved special praise for his wife Sharon, who caddies for
him on the Senior Tour, crediting her for her part in a memorable
weekend on the D J Russell-designed Fidra course.“Without her I wouldn’t have been here,” he said. “Most players will
tell you on Tour there are a lot of scars and she’s encouraged me,
nursing the wounds along the way and we have had a blast here.“It’s very special, and to get some of the congratulations from my peers and fellow players was also special.”Australian Fowler carded a final round 67 to share second place with Spaniard Luna, who shot 74.Fowler’s compatriot Mike Harwood finished two shots behind Eales,
nine under par, and former European Ryder Cup Captain Mike James shared
fifth place with Rafferty and Gary Wolstenholme.Rafferty faded with a final round of 78 after leading with scores of